Percy, Please
by Elayora
Summary: This takes place after The Lost Hero. Percy has been found and returned to camp, but he is still in danger. Lost an confused, can he ever be the same again? WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
1. Piper

Piper McLean stood at the top of Half-Blood Hill, her long brown hair blowing in the wind. Her many colored eyes gazed intently at the scene before her, and her lips were slightly parted as if she were in a trance.

She knew that campers stumbled across the border every day, but this was different. Everyone seemed tense, as if they did not know what to expect. Why? _Because today Percy Jackson is coming back,_ a little voice whispered.

Percy Jackson had been missing for about two months now, and he was in more danger than she had ever been in before. Sure, her quest had been scary, but this guy didn't even remember who he was. At least that's What Jason thought.

You see, Jason was going through the same thing. Hera had wiped his memory, but little by little he was gaining it back. Only a week ago he had remembered the exact location of the roman camp for demigods, and the rescue mission for Percy had started about three days ago.

_What if they don't come back?_ That question had been nagging Piper ever since the team had left. But there was no sign of them anywhere.

Then she heard the shout. "I see them! I see them!" shouted a scout from the Apollo cabin. Then she saw them too. Thalia and Jason were supporting an unconscious demigod between them. The kid had a hood pulled around him, so she couldn't see who it was. Behind them walked Leo, and on his other side Will Solace.

Jason stumbled and the kid's hood fell away, revealing black hair and the same features from photos Piper had seen of Percy Jackson. Yes it was him. But something was wrong. He had a cut on his forehead, and it was trickling blood. His face was pale and when Piper rushed forward to catch him, she felt the heat radiating off his skin.

"He- I- we didn't know what to expect!" Thalia stammered. "And when we got there, he… it was too late. They'd found the truth. We just managed to get him out. He's been unconscious since we saved him!" With that, she burst into tears.

Percy moaned faintly as Piper laid him on the soft grass, and his breath caught in his throat. Then Clarisse came forward and gently lifted him off the ground. "It's okay Prissy," she murmured. "You're safe now."


	2. Percy's Tears

Clarisse carried Percy over the boundary line, staggering under his weight. Annabeth was talking rapidly into the earpiece of her cell phone. "yes," she said. "Yes Ms. Jackson, we found him. Yes, we can." There was a short pause while Annabeth listened intently. "Mmmhmmm. Yes. Mmmm. I'm sure that can be arranged. Yes… see you soon… you too. Bye." She hung up. "Sally will be here with Mr. Blofis in a while."

Sure enough, a few hours later a car horn blared outside the boundary, and two people came rushing across. The woman had tears in her eyes as she cried, "Where is he?"

Clarisse led the woman to the infirmary, motioning for Piper to follw. When they stepped through the door, the woman rushed to the bed nearest the door, and Piper could just see the pale face of Percy Jackson in the gloom.

"Uh… you must be Ms. Jackson," Piper said.

"Call me Sally."

"Okay."

Piper slowly turned to leave when a new voice whispered, "Mom?" Piper whipped around in surprise to see a two points of intense if slightly unfocused green staring out at her and Sally. She realized they were Percy's eyes, gleaming with a feverish light. The boy coughed, shutting his eyes as his body shook. His mother gently lifted him up, rocking him back and forth in a soothing rhythm.

When she pulled back, Piper could see tears streaking Percy's face. He began to cry, trembling like a leaf and gasping for air. Piper slowly backed out of the tent, the last thing she saw was Sally gently wiping her son's tears away.


	3. Just Like Before

Percy's shoulders shook as he sobbed uncontrollably in his mother's arms. He hurt all over, but he cried anyway. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the strange girl back out of the infirmary. He had only enough strength to lift his head a fraction of an inch from his mother's arms.

She cradled him gently, rocking him and holing his head up to help him breathe, singing gentle lullabies in his ear. But she could do nothing to calm his wild sobbing, only watch and wait.

Finally Percy's tears ran out, and his shoulders slumped with exhaustion, and his breath steadied to a slow rasp that was barely audible. His eyes closed, the pools of green dimming as sleep crept over them. And by the side of his bed, a new form crouched, Annabeth, her hair swinging down over her face in a golden curtain, and her gray eyes clouded with worry.

"How is he?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"He's bad. He's been crying."

"Oh." Annabeth's own eyes misted over as she gazed down at Percy. She remembered when he'd first came to camp.

_Flashback: Annabeth saw Grover before the boy. Grover was slumped over, seemingly unconscious, and a boy was dragging him. Then she saw him. Green eyes clouded with pain and tears, his face showing his internal struggle as the salty drops spilled over his cheeks. He was nothing special. Then he collapsed on the porch and curiosity won her over. She ran to the steps, leaning over the boy. He began to moan faintly and he was trembling all over._

Annabeth jerked herself out of the flashback and stared intently at Percy's face. Yes, she decided, it was the same boy she had seen all those years ago. Changed yes, older yes, but still the same kid she had watched stagger over the border.

And she would help him get through this, just like before.


End file.
